Zoe sat on the deck of the Couffaine residence, awkwardly strumming the strings of the guitar in her hands as Luka sat by, ready to give guidance if necessary. She kept trying, never managing to get it to sound right. Eventually, she got fed up and put the guitar down, groaning.

"Ugh, what am I kidding, I'm never gonna do this."

"I don't know about that; you're already way better than when you started."

"That's not saying much." She lamented.

"Of course it is. Everyone starts off like you do." He reassured her.

"But I haven't made any progress today at all!"

"I think that's because you haven't been focusing."

"Of course I am! I'm trying to focus the best I can!" She threw her hands up.

"What I meant was that it feels like your mind is elsewhere." He elaborated. "Come on, practice can wait. Tell me what's going on."

Zoe sighed, looking down. He read her like a book. "It's… Chloe."

"It often is." He joked.

"No, it's me."

"I thought it was Chloe?"

"No, it's, urgh, gah!" She facepalmed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I'm here to listen. Take your time."

Zoe took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, it's… Chloe's apparently been treating people even worse than usual. And I think it's cause of me. I… Well, with the whole Queen Bee thing, I said some cruel things to her. I think it riled her up."

"Did you say it to be cruel?" Luka inquired.

"Of course not! I did it cause I thought I had to to get her to stop something. But it was too much, I went too far, and now she's taking it out on other people, I…"

"Zoe," Luka said, picking up his own guitar. "You wanna know something I've noticed about you?" He asked.

"...Umm, I guess." She responded.

"The way you talk about other people's mistakes, it's kind of like…" He started to play a melody. It was sweet, slow, and romantic. "Even Chloe's mistakes, you do what you can to understand her. But when it comes to your own, it's more like…" He started to play a bunch of hazardous, awkward, out of tune notes in a syncopated rhythm, making for a chaotic melody that caught Zoe off guard. She laughed a bit at his antics.

"I guess I see what you mean." She says, picking her guitar back up. "Still, I can't help but feel bad for Sabrina…"

—

"SABRINA!" Chloe yelled. "I TOLD YOU TO GET ME MY HOMEWORK DONE BY NOW!" Chloe stomped over to her friend, who was furiously scribbling down answers onto a worksheet in Chloe's room.

"I'm sorry, Chloe, but it's only been 15 minutes!"

"24 hours and 15 minutes! I told you to get it done yesterday!"

"But that's just a figure of speech!"

"Excuses!" Chloe shouted before stomping away.

—

"And it's been like that since she got akumatized?" Luka asked. Zoe nodded.

"I wish I could do something…"

"I think the first thing you need to do is stop being so down on yourself." Luka told her. "You're hurting here, too, so focus on that, at least till an opportunity presents itself for you to help. Just remember, this isn't your fault, alright?"

"...Alright." She said, giving a smile. She tried at the chord again. It sounded awful, but she and Luka just laughed at it.

—

"Alright, Sabrina!" Chloe declared, pointing at Sabrina who was currently finishing up Chloe's homework. "It's time for the day of reckoning!"

"Th-the day of what-now?" Sabrina asked, concerned.

"The day of reckoning! It's a little mission code-name I came up with just now. Brilliant title, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, it's wonderful, Chloe! But, uh, what is it?"

"What is it? Well, obviously, it's the day that I get revenge on that rotten Dupain-Chang girl once and for all!" She said, clenching her fists. "She took Adrikins from me, she took the spotlight from me with her multimouse story, and she's almost took my role as the most beloved girl in the class! She's too cocky, she needs to be put in her place."

"Oh, wow, so… uh, what do we do?"

"WE? Well, I'VE already come up with this plan. YOUR job is going to be to do the dirty work, as per usual."

"Oh, right, uh, and what would that be?" Sabrina asked, getting nervous.

"You're going to break her and Adrikins up! See, I've stolen the phone of a boy here at school. Now we just need Marinette's phone and I can make a fake series of texts between them that'll prove to Adrikins his precious Multimouse has been unfaithful!"

"...But wouldn't it be really obvious, since - "

"DID I ASK FOR YOUR OPINION?"

"N-no!"

"Good!

—

The next day, Sabrina was sneaking through the locker room inbetween classes. She went up to Marinette's locker and opened it, getting ready to look through her stuff, when -

"Ah, the lapdog." Kagami said from behind her. Sabrina yelped and jumped, doing a 180 midair. She landed stumbling backwards and hit her head on the locker. "Let me guess, Chloe put you up to this?"

"Wh-what? No, of course n-"

"Do not lie to me."

"YES IT WAS CHLOE SHE WANTS TO PLANT FAKE TEXTS IN MARINETTE'S PHONE TO BREAK HER UP WITH ADRIEN!" Sabrina stammered out, not expecting to come clean that thoroughly that fast. Kagami narrowed her eyes.

"Is that the truth?" She asked. Sabrina nodded, forcing a smile. Kagami gave it some thought. After a tense moment, she grabbed Sabrina's hand and started to drag her away.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"You and I are skipping school."

"T-to do what?"

"You'll see."

Sabrina let out a whimper, certain Kagami had only pain in store for her.

—

"I'll have a double scoop of vanilla and cake batter with sprinkles, marshmallows, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and a cherry." Kagami gave her order with a straight face. Sabrina was standing beside her inside of an ice cream place, shivering in anticipation, still certain this would involve some kind of torture. "What do you want, Sabrina?" Kagami asked.

"Uh, j-ust vanilla is fine."

"And one more of vanilla for my friend." Kagami said. The two of them got their ice cream and sat down. Kagami began to eat. Sabrina didn't touch hers. After a few minutes of silence, Kagami spoke up. "Is something the matter? Do you not like your order?"

"N-no! I mean, haha - " Sabrina started to scarf down the food. However, after eating a bit, she jealously eyed the much more elaborate treat Kagami had.

"Do you want a taste?" Kagami asked in the same tone she'd said almost everything else that day. To Sabrina it sounded like a threat.

"N-no thanks?"

"Are you sure?"

"YEP!"

"...You seem nervous." Kagami finally said.

"D-do I? Noooooo… okay yes. Can we skip to the part where you get payback?" She asked. Kagami sighed.

"Sabrina, you're constantly serving as Chloe's lapdog, correct?"

"Uh, I guess you could call it that? I - "

"You deserve better. I want to help you break free from her."

"Break free from her? What are you talking about, Chloe is my best friend! I just - "

"Feel as if you cannot abandon her, as if every moment she's angry or disappointed in you is your fault rather than your own, keeping you trapped in an eternal cage of self doubt and self loathing which isolates you from those you love?"

"...Are you okay, Kagami?" Sabrina asked, suddenly worried.

"Splendid. You, however, are not. I intend to show you that you would be happier not doing what Chloe demands of you. Do you object?"

"...I…" Sabrina sighs. "I guess not. I was starting to think she's been getting a lot meaner recently. But I don't want to abandon her…"

"Then start by putting up boundaries. Make room for yourself."

"...Okay, if you say so. Uh, hey, were you serious about buying me another ice cream? I don't quite like this one."

"Of course. Pick anything on the menu." Kagami said. Sabrina's face lit up.

—

"UGH, WHERE IS SABRINA?" Chloe asked, pacing around outside the school. "She's supposed to have gotten here by now!" She grumbled.

"Is something the matter, Chloe?" Lila asked, walking up beside her.

"It's Sabrina! She's so useless, utterly useless! She was supposed to get me Dupain-Chang's phone by now!"

"Oh, you sent her to help you and she didn't even follow through?" Lila asked. "And while she's off playing without you!"

"Playing without me, what are you talking about? Sabrina never does anything without me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Lila said, showing Chloe a photo taken of Sabrina and Kagami eating ice cream. Chloe gasped, offended.

"THAT HARLOT!"

"I know, right? While she was doing something for you, too. Looks like you've been left behind."

"UGH! RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!" Chloe stomped her foot.

"Well, I have an idea… if you need a new helper, I'm sure plenty of people would be eager to take Sabrina's place." Lila said. "Why not hold some tryouts?"

"An audition? Hmmmmm…" Chloe considered this.

—

"Hrnnnnngg… Kagami, stop, this is terrible!" Sabrina cried out.

"You can do it!" Kagami pressed.

"This is too painful!"

"Muster the strength! Focus! Do not give in to weakness!"

Sabrina was sitting on a desk in Kagami's room, staring down at some of Chloe's homework, a pencil in her hand, trying not to do it.

"But I've already done this myself, I know the answers!"

"Good, then you've done all the work you need! Just sit up and walk away from it."

Sabrina grit her teeth and slowly put the pencil down. Then, in one swift motion, she leapt out of the desk and onto her feet, throwing her fists into the air. "I DID IT!"

"Excellent work." Kagami congratulated in her usual monotone. "Now, the next thing we should do is discuss what you liked about Chloe.

"Huh?" Sabrina asked. "Isn't this about getting me to move on from her?"

"It is. I simply want to know what limited positive qualities she offered so I can emulate them. It shouldn't be difficult."

"Oh, well, she'd buy me a lot of things!"

"Material possessions are overrated but I suppose I can treat you sometimes."

"Oh, and I really liked making mischief with her! Sneaking in places and stealing things is always so exciting!"

"I see, so you enjoy the villainy you did on her behalf."

"Ummmmm… hahaha, did I say that?" She asked, scratching the back of her head. "I meant that - "

"No, it's fine, I can work with this. We'll pull a prank of our own."

"Wait… you don't mean…" She leaned forward. "...Getting payback on Chloe?"

"No, absolutely not, out of the question." Kagami replied sternly. "The goal is to rehabilitate you. If we were to get payback on Chloe, we'd have to give her what she deserves, which would be worse than what Chloe told you to do. We are going to pull harmless but still exhilarating pranks. And you will enjoy them. Understood?"

"Y-YES!" Sabrina agreed.

"Excellent. Perhaps we should pull one on Marinette and Adrien. I've wanted to get some petty payback on them recently."

"Really? What did they do?"

"They've been lovey dovey."

"Oh, right, you have feelings for Adrien, don't you? That must be hard."

"No, not at all." Kagami dismissed, waving her hand. "I've moved onto something else. Unfortunately, he and I also cannot be together like I would like."

"Oh, really? Who is he?"

Kagami pulled out her phone and then showed Sabrina a picture of a manga character. "His name is Kousuke."

"O-oh…" Sabrina said, not sure how to react.

"I've sworn off love with 3-dimensional men." She elaborated, scrolling through more photos of this man to show Sabrina. Seems he's involved in a lot of fantastic fights in his story. "Real men don't romantically show up when you need them most to save you from danger and give you the pep talk you need. Real men aren't archons of virtue who'll look past your worst flaws. And they don't wipe away your tears romantically when you're at your lowest point."

"And… Kousuke does that?"

"Yes." She said completely seriously.

"...Ahaaaa… S-so, this prank?"

"Yes, the prank." Kagami put her phone away. Sabrina sighed with relief that they changed the topic. "Why don't we start brainstorming a plan?"

—

The next day at school, Sabrina was vibrating with joy, excited about the plans she and Kagami had come up with the day before. She didn't even notice all the angry glances Chloe was sending her way throughout every class.

Marinette noticed that Sabrina was unusually excited that day after having gone missing the day before, but she didn't pay it any mind. After all, today she was going to be going on a big date with Adrien! She didn't know the details yet, but Adrien promised her he pulled out all the stops. She was on top of the world.

As everyone walked out of school, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around and saw the handsome face of her wonderful boyfriend. But… there was something off.

"Don't even try, Felix." She said with a positive smile which hid daggers. That was Adrien's identical cousin, Felix, who had recently enrolled in this school. Marinette was currently one of the 3 people keeping secret that he was Argos, the one behind the Red Moon incident.

"Haha, sorry, just playing a prank." He said, getting beside her and walking down the stairs of the gymnasium with her.

"Today's not a good day for that, I'm afraid." Marinette said. "It's my big romantic date with Adrien."

"Right. That." Felix rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't be such a sourpuss about it. Adrien still likes you, he just likes me more." She teased.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you are excited. I - "

"Oh no." Marinette said with dread. Chloe was setting up a desk which had a banner that read 'sidekick auditions' on it, and was preparing to start soliciting. "This cannot end well." What made it worse is that Lila was helping her set up.

"Hey, Lila, are you sure you want to help Chloe with this?" Max asked her.

"Oh, I thought it was odd at first, too, but Chloe just looked so excited at the idea." Lila said with her sweet, fake smile.

"Move it, nerdling, unless you want to try out!" Chloe shooed Max away. Marinette groaned, watching this from across the room.

"...Well, that seems delightful." Felix remarked sarcastically. "I'll be off then - "

"Ooooooohhhh no you don't mister." Marinette grabbed him by the back of the collar, stopping him.

"Hrjk - What's the big idea?" He asked.

"You, my good friend, are going to help those 2 fine ladies in need."

"I am NOT going to be Chloe's sidekick." He said, disgust in his voice.

"No, but you WILL help her find one."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because, Felix," Marinette said, glaring at him. "Those 2, if left to their own devices, will almost certainly akumatize someone, and I need you to make sure everything stays nice and none-negative so that my date with Adrien doesn't get ruined!"

"And why should I have to do that, anyways?" Felix asked. "So what if an akuma attacks? No skin off my back."

"If you recall, Felix, you OWE me one."

"I don't recall owing you anything."

"Please try to jog your memory."

"Alas, my mind is empty. I am just a lost little lamb."

"Hardy har har. Look, do you want Adrien's big day to be ruined? He worked hard on this." She asked. Hearing this, Felix relented, sighing with dread for what he was about to do.

"Fine. I'll do it for Adrien."

"That's a good boy."

"Don't call me that."

"Yeah yeah, thanks for everything!" Marinette said, waving Felix goodbye before running out of the school. "Alright, time to kill some time before our date. Eeee!" She squeed in excitement, riding off home. Sabrina and Kagami were watching this from behind the staircase.

"Are you ready?" Kagami asked.

"I sure am!" Sabrina nodded.

—

Felix smoothed his hair out so he'd stop looking like Adrien and looked over at Chloe and Lila's booth. He took a deep breath, preparing for a stressful day. He walked up to the booth, seeing Lila's face light up. His face twitched as he tried not to reflexively gag.

"Felix!" Lila cooed.

"Hello, Lila." He greeted her, keeping up a smile.

"I take it you're gonna sign up to be my sidekick?" Chloe asked. Lila, who till then was caught up in the high of seeing Felix approach her, was snapped out of it. She thought about what it meant for him to be here. Luckily for her, he shook his head.

"Oh, no, I just saw the two of you and decided I wanted to help out. Maybe I could…" He willed the cogs in his brain to turn. "...Lend my expert insights on sidekicks." He offered, the fact he's never had anything close to a sidekick crossing his mind. He supposed there was Adrien… though the closest he's had was probably Chrysalis, whoever she was. He sighed, wishing he was hamming it up with her instead. Maybe if an akuma attacked… no, he perished the thought. He promised Marinette he'd do this for Adrien.

"Oh, that sounds like a LOVELY idea!" Lila said, wrapping her arms around one of his. He reminded himself he was doing this for Adrien.

—

Marinette was pacing around her room, bouncing with excitement at whatever this dream date with Adrien would be like.

"You're really excited for this date, huh, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"Of course I am! It's Adrien!"

"Yeah, I know, you've gone on dates before." Tikki laughed.

"Yeah, but, it's like, he really seemed to be excited for this." She explained, gesticulating. "Which MEANS, he probably has some really big thing planned. Which means he thinks I'M important enough for a REALLY BIG THING! Isn't that like - " She held out her hands in front of her, her limbs vibrating as she tried to think of a way to convey how wonderful it felt to be on Adrien's mind like this.

"...Exciting?"

"GAH!" She threw her hands in the air and fell on her back. Suddenly it's like a wave of exhaustion hit her. She steadied her breath, looking up at the ceiling, and thinking back on recent events. "All this stuff with Chrysalis and Iridios and Bunnix…" Marinette said. "It's almost as exhausting as Monarch was. I feel like I'm going to fall apart at any moment. But…" She clutched her chest. "I have ADRIEN. Adrien, can you believe it? If I'm with him, I know I can make it through it. He's just so… so….." She felt that tension arise in her chest. She was getting overwhelmed with love, and had to let it out by rolling around and squealing. Her energy was back.

"I think it's wonderful that Adrien is able to do so much for you, and for your work as Ladybug. It'd be a real problem if you burned out, so try and enjoy today, okay?"

"Of course, Tikki!" She said, hopping to her feet. "Gah, when is he - " She was interrupted by a text message. Her face lit up when she checked it - Adrien was at the door. She rushed down as fast as she could, rushing past her parents who were sighing wistfully at the youthful joy of her romance. She opened the door to be met with Adrien, offering her a flower.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, Marinette." He said as she took the flower and put it in her hair. "But I promise, I'm going to make this night unforgettable." He told her. She didn't respond. The romantic mood of everything: the anticipation, the flower, the promise of a wonderful night with the love of her life, Marinette was awash with all of it, and so even at this early moment she was entranced by that soft, healing gaze of his.

"Marinette? …Marinette?" Adrien waved his hand in front of his girlfriend's slack-jawed face. "Marinette are you alright?"

"Wh - OH, me?" She asked, snapping out of it. "Oh, well, you know me, I'm about as alright as right can all be! I mean, have you seen me go left? Nope! All right. Haha!" She stammered, wildly flailing her arms. Adrien burst out laughing. God, that laugh made her cares melt away. She felt herself getting entranced again, but fought it.

"Well, that's good." He said, offering his hand. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, let's go…" Marinette took his hand. He guided her away to a rickshaw which was waiting for them on the street. She held his hand tight, feeling it grip back, an affirmation that he wanted to hold onto her as much as she wanted to hold onto him. She watched the streets near where she was, the ones she so often walked at a pedestrian's pace, rush by as they rode. Maybe it was just that someone was pedaling them around, but being with Adrien made her feel like she was soaring over the world even when she wasn't powered up by Tikki.

"So, what's first on the docket?" Marinette asked him.

"We're going to see a movie." He said.

"What movie?" She didn't really care which one it was. Just seeing it with him was going to make it a wonderful experience.

"Sorry, that's a surprise." He said with a wink. She felt her heart flutter a bit,

When they got off, they found themselves at the movie theater. The two of them walked in, got their popcorn, and then made their way to an employee who seemed to be waiting for them. "Right this way, Mr. Agreste." He said, guiding the two to a showing room, no one in it but them.

"You got a private room?" Marinette asked, awestruck.

"That's not even the best part." He said, failing to hold back a cheeky smile. The two of them sat down in their seats as the movie, right on time, flickered on. It was an action movie in a franchise Marinette adored.

"Wait… is this…"

"Precisely."

"But this movie doesn't start airing for another 4 days!" She said, turning to him. "How did you - "

"Felix called in a favor for me." He said, beaming back at her. "He's got some surprising connections."

"Felix did this?" She asked, suddenly feeling VERY guilty for how she treated him earlier.

"Yeah, apparently he owed you one for something involving his love life? It's weird, I didn't know he had one."

"Hahaha, yeah…. I may have called in that favor myself earlier today….." She admitted. Adrien chuckled.

"Oh, well, I guess we have to do something nice for him later on then."

"...Yeah, you're right."

The movie was incredible. It was funny, thrilling, and no one got mad at the two of them for talking during it. There was even a nice romantic subplot in it, between 2 characters Marinette always wanted to see get together. And then, during the kiss scene between those 2 characters, she felt Adrien's hand grace her cheek. She turned to meet his blazing gaze. Both of them began to lean in for a long, soft kiss that went even longer than the one in the movie.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Marinette asked when they pulled away.

"That list's a bit too long. You'd miss the rest of the movie."

"Yeah… It'd be a shame if I got distracted." She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself in for an even deeper kiss.

At this moment, Sabrina and Kagami snuck into the same showing room that the happy couple was in. Both were dressed in all black, including hoodies, helping them blend into the dark environment.

It was time for the prank.

It was a pretty simple prank. Kagami had heard from Felix that the two of them were going on a movie date today, the perfect setting for a well meaning gaff on the love birds. Though the two tricksters were a tad bit late, it seemed there was still a while left in the movie to pull off their daring escapade.

The plan was simple: Kagami and Sabrina had gathered a bunch of plastic insects and filled a popcorn bucket with them. The two of them would sneak up behind the lovebirds and, when they were distracted, replace the popcorn bucket with the one filled with toy bugs. A classic hijinx. Kagami was rather proud of it.

Marinette and Adrien were still passionately snogging through an action sequence, leaving them very vulnerable. Sabrina had the bucket in hand, ready to replace it the moment that Kagami took away their original bucket. Kagami reached over to, but at that moment Marinette pulled away from Adrien.

"You know, Adrien…" She said, still holding onto him. She wasn't looking at the bucket, but still, Kagami hesitated.

"What is it, Marinette?"

"I…" She sniffed, choking up. "Things have been really hard lately for me. So I want you to know how much I really needed this. Just, a moment for us to share, just the two of us. Even when it fades, it can live on in my memory. These little things we share, you have no idea how much strength it gives me…" Kagami turned to make eye contact with Sabrina. Sabrina looked back, confused at her hesitance. Kagami looked down at the ground, communicating guilt. Sabrina suddenly got what was going through Kagami's head, relaxing.

She probably wasn't going to get a chance to do the prank today. Kagami was chickening out. It was a shame, Sabrina was really looking forward to this.

The two pranksters snuck out without ever alerting the lovestruck teens. When they made it to the hall, the two of them sat down with their backs to a wall.

"...Sorry." Kagami eventually admitted.

"You're… sorry?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah. I was doing this for you. I mean, I wanted to do it, too. I thought it would be fun. But I really wanted to do it because I thought if you could have fun with me like you do with Chloe, you wouldn't need to go back to her. But… I guess Chloe would have taken the bucket, wouldn't she have?"

"No…" Sabrina looked down at her knees, smiling. "Chloe would have made me take the real bucket AND place the fake one. She wouldn't have done half the work. And… she wouldn't have apologized."

Kagami smiled at Sabrina. "...I was right. It was pretty easy to top her."

"Hey, Kagami?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we still pull this prank on them some other time? When Marinette's a bit less… vulnerable?"

"Of course. Hey, do you want to go brainstorm other pranks we could play?" Kagami asked.

"Do I!" Sabrina stood up, excited. Kagami got up as well, elated. Making new friends was… nice.

—

Chloe. Then Felix. Then Lila. The three of them sat behind a long table in the gymnasium, like judges on a reality tv show. The way Chloe was acting, you'd think it was one. She carried herself in a smug, self satisfied way as she called person after person from the line to try out to be Sabrina's replacement. To her left was Felix, disgruntled and upset at having to sit here and babysit Chloe while she had another one of her gross misadventures. And, of course, to his left was Lila, looking ever so satisfied to have Felix stuck here with her. She was probably suspecting he did this just to spend time with her.

It took every ounce of strength within his body not to let out a groan.

"NEXT!" Chloe said, dismissing the girl who was just trying out for having braces. She couldn't have been older than 12. Honestly, the group of people showing up was a tad cringe inducing. All of them were from other schools, and the vast majority were a few years younger than Chloe, clearly awestruck at the idea of being friends with a rich celebrity. Didn't they know Felix's cousin was just as famous, if not more, and was ridiculously easy to befriend? He wasn't sure who was sadder: Chloe, or the desperate ticks trying to suck off her wealth?

It was him. He was probably the saddest.

His forehead made contact with the table as a literal 8 year old stepped up.

"Is it true that you're a movie star?" The girl asked Chloe. God knows here she heard that.

"Well, I might as well be." Chloe said. "Felix, stay awake, this is important."

"Right, yes…" Felix slowly sat back up.

"So, what kind of talents do you bring to the table?" Lila asked brightly.

"Oh, well, I'm a really good dancer! And I can draw!" The girl said, doing a pirouette.

"Wow, that's incredible!" Lila cooed disingenuously. She turned to Chloe. "What do you think, Chloe?"

"Ugh, I don't need you to dance. I need you to do my homework. Do you know much about sine waves?"

"S…Sign waves?"

"Ugh, useless! Utterly useless! NEXT!" She said, dismissing the girl. The girl looked like she was about to cry. Felix took a deep breath in through his nose as he pulled out a lollipop from his backpack, offering it with a forced, toothy smile. He liked to have some sweets on him in case he needed to destress, and of course he was using it to calm down a bunch of children. The girl accepted the lollipop and walked away without bursting into tears. Felix let out a sigh of relief.

A girl their age, from another school, walked up with a bright, optimistic expression on her face. She wore a cute pink dress and had short black hair.

"HELLO!" She said, waving at Chloe. "I heard you need a new sidekick! Well I'm actually a really good pick I think!"

"Oh yeah? How so?" Chloe asked.

"Well, I'm at the top of my class, so I can do all your homework for you! I'm very good at following instructions, I can carry your bags while you go shopping - " She lifted a large rock over her head to demonstrate her strength. "And I know 8 languages!"

Felix and Lila were both caught off guard by this. Someone that competent shouldn't want anything to do with Chloe of all people. They made eye contact with each other, trying to confirm that they weren't going insane. They looked back at the girl, and then at Chloe, who was seriously considering it.

"So, if what you say is true, then you might be the first candidate worth listening to today. What's your name?"

"Clarissa!" She said.

"Well, it looks like we found our winner!" Felix said, standing up.

"Are you sure?" Lila asked. "But we still have a few more people in line - "

"Best strike when the iron is hot." Felix spoke out his ass. "Come on, Chloe, she seems perfect. I told you I had expertise, right? She's a good choice." He was desperate to get out of here.

"Hmmmmmm… Sure, why not. Clarice, you're coming with me!" She said, standing up. Everyone else can go home. Shoo! Shoo!"

Felix sighed with relief. He'd finally be able to go home. "Well, that was a fulfilling act of community service." He said. He started to walk out, but Chloe bumped him to the side as she power walked past him, Clarissa following shortly after. Chloe then pushed a girl who was waiting in line out of the way, knocking them onto the ground. Felix saw this girl get visibly angry. He took a deep breath before walking over and offering her a hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked them, forcing a smile. The person saw him and calmed down, taking his hand and standing up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… was hoping I'd get chosen." She said, solemnly.

"So…. uh, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you ever want anything to do with her?" He asked, his complete and utter disgust for Chloe poorly hidden.

"Well… I kind of needed the money. I'm trying to save up for a trip, and I heard Chloe's friends usually get showered in gifts… But I didn't think she'd be so nasty." Hearing this, Felix sighed.

"Listen, there are more important things than money. For example, staying as far away from this nonsense as possible, which I should really get to doing." He began walking away, glad the person wasn't actually going to have a breakdown. But then…

"Oh Feeeeeliiiiiix!" Lila walked up to be right beside him and started to head out of the building with him.

"What is it?" He asked her, clearly fed up.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie with me later!"

"Sorry, Lila, I - "

"Hold that thought!" She said, interrupting him. "I just remembered something I had to tell Chloe. Wait right there!" She ran off ahead of him. He stopped, considering 2 options. On one hand, he could follow her and make sure she doesn't do anything to make Chloe freak out and make an Akuma.

On the other hand, he could go home and not deal with any more of this.

Unfortunately, if he followed after Lila, she'd probably interpret it as him not wanting to be away from her for longer than necessary, and that just wouldn't do. He made a silent apology to Marinette before assuring himself that there probably wouldn't be an akuma today.

Having effectively gaslit himself into thinking everything would be fine, Felix walked towards home so that he would be away from all of this nonsense. He made it about 10 minutes before hearing screaming in the distance. He turned to see an akumatized villain flying through the air, carrying Chloe by the ponytail. He groaned before rushing into an alleyway and letting Duusuu out of his pocket.

"Isn't this awesome? You get to work with Chrysalis again!" Duusuu cheered.

"Yeah, and Marinette is going to chew my ear off after this." Felix vented. "Oh well, best to make the most of a bad situation. Let's give them something that really pushes their limits. Duusuu, spread my feathers!" He said, initiating his transformation. Duusuu flew into his brooch, revealing its true form as the peacock miraculous. Holding one of his hands over head, he snapped his fingers, causing a trail of blue energy to trace his body, covering him in a blue tuxedo with a split tailcoat and turning his hair blue. With a little poke on his chest, he created a blue rose corsage. The blue energy then flew through the air, forming in his hands and turning into a fan which he unfurled, covering his face. When he closed the fan, his face was covered by a mask, completing his transformation into the supervillain Iridios.

—

"LET GO OF ME, CLARICE!" Chloe yelled. She was being held aloft by Clarissa, who was decked out from head to toe in a fancy gold dress, with gold skin and floofy hair that looked like a bundle of banknotes. She was flying through the air atop a giant golden coin.

"It's not Clarice! It's Clarissa! Well, actually, that's not even true anymore. Ever since Chrysalis gave me the power to turn anything I touch into money, I'm now Gold Bigger!" The supervillain yelled.

"I knew it! Lila was right to warn me about you and I was right to throw you out! You WERE just after me for my money!"

"Of course I was. Why ELSE would anyone try to be your friend?" Gold Bigger taunted before booping Chloe on the nose turning Chloe into a cloud of gold coins that Gold Bigger then brought into her body, causing her to grow in size, now 7 feet tall. "Ah, that feels good. Now then, let's make some active income!" She flew down onto the street, running at people and tagging them to turn them into coins, which she'd then collect into herself, making her larger.

She made her way to the movie theater and walked in, having to duck to get into the building. People screamed, trying to get past her, but she ran at them faster than they could run and tagged almost everyone, turning them into coins.

Kagami and Sabrina were watching this happen from further inside. Gold Bigger spotted them and began lumbering towards them, prompting Kagami to grab Sabrina by the hand and run with her in the opposite direction. "Come on, there should be another exit!" She said, Sabrina following along.

"Not so faaaaast~" Gold Bigger taunted, shrinking down as gold coins flew off of her body. They formed a wall in the way of Kagami and Sabrina, forcing them to stop. Kagami turned towards the villain and looked around for anything they could use. Her eyes went to the bucket off plastic insects in Sabrina's hands.

"Sabrina, when I say run, run and don't look back."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm going to distract it. You run to safety."

"But - "

"Don't question me, just do it." Kagami ordered. She grabbed the bucket out of Sabrina's hands as Gold Bigger broke into a sprint. "RUN!" She commanded, prompting Sabrina to start running forward. Gold Bigger reached out to grab her, but Kagami threw the bucket at the villain's head, knocking her off balance and letting Sabrina slip past and break for the entrance. Gold Bigger turned to glare at Kagami.

"You insolent…"

"It's you against me, fiend." Kagami got into a fighting stance. The villain ran at her and made several attempts to grab her, but Kagami dodged all of them. However, with every dodge, she stepped further back, until her back made contact with the wall of coins. She grimaced, waiting for the next attack to come, but -

"CATACLYSM!"

The wall behind her crumbled into nothing, and Kagami stumbled backwards. The villain got knocked back by a swing from Cat Noir's staff as Kagami fell into Ladybug's arms.

"She turns people to gold by touching them, and then uses the gold as weapons, and to grow her body!" Kagami warned them.

"Sounds like we've got a bit of money trouble." Cat Noir quipped, readying his staff for the ensuing fight.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." "Ladybug said, sounding REALLY pissed off right now. "Cat Noir, hold her off, I need to bring this girl to safety."

"At your service, Milady." He replied with a salute before running forward to duel with the enemy. Ladybug ran with Kagami down the hall and around the corner, where she pulled out the miraculous of the dragon.

"Of course this had to happen today." She muttered.

"What's special about today?"

"Forget about it. Sorry you got roped into this, Kagami. Can I count on you to help us out today?"

Kagami put on the choker. "It'd be my honor, Ladybug. Longg, bring the storm!" She called, transforming into the superheroine Ryuko.

—

"I got you cornered." Cat Noir said, pointing his staff at a 10 foot Gold Bigger, who was backed against the wall of a building, out on the street. He eyed a wallet strapped to her hip as he blocked several blasts of coins. "Let me guess, it's in your wallet?" He got ready to make a dash for it, but he saw a small feather flit down from below, making its way into the wallet. "NO!" He looked up, seeing Iridios standing on the building above them.

"Gold Bigger, I'm Iridios." He called down to her. "I'll give you a sentimonster to help you get these superheroes off your back. Come out, Bullion!" He declared as a giant, 20 foot tall bull made of pure gold formed nearby. It opened up its mouth and fired a golden laser at Cat Noir, who swiftly dodged out of the way. Gold Bigger used this opportunity to start running away.

"Get back here!" Cat Noir called, but he couldn't give chase due to Bullion charging him, forcing him to dodge out of the way. Iridios pulled feathers out of his fan and threw them at Cat Noir like darts, forcing Cat to block them with his staff.

Ladybug landed on a nearby rooftop with Ryuko, making eye contact with Iridios. She furrowed her brow. "Ryuko, follow after the akumatized villain. I'll try to get someone else sent your way."

"I won't need another hero. Leave the villain to me." Ryuko assured, jumping after Gold Bigger, leaving Ladybug and Cat Noir to handle the rest. Ladybug swung away to find another hero, and Cat Noir continued to play cat and mouse with Bullion and Argos.

—

Ryuko didn't currently have eyes on Gold Bigger, making it hard to track her down, instead having to follow the sounds of screaming citizens. Eventually, she came across the villain stomping towards a plaza full of people who were caged in by rubble from broken buildings nearby. Gold Bigger had gotten big enough to tower just above the nearby buildings. Ryuko dashed across the rooftops and swung her sword across the side of the titan, causing coins to fly every which way, but not seeming to faze the villain at all at all. Gold Bigger reached their hand down to grab the people in front of her, but -

"WIND DRAGON!" Ryuko created a wall of wind, blocking the giant's hand from touching the citizens. Wind also blew some of the rubble away, creating openings. "Everyone, I won't let this thing near you! Now is your chance to escape!" She said while flourishing her sword, causing the wind to blast forward, causing Gold Bigger to stumble backwards. Ryuko pointed her sword towards her. "FIEND! I WILL NOT LET YOU TRANSFORM ANOTHER INNOCENT SOUL FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR OWN GREED! IS MONEY TRULY THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU?"

"Oh, let me guess, you're someone who has never had to WORRY ABOUT MONEY!" Gold Bigger shouted, grabbing at Ryuko, who jumped out of the way. "And you're going to lecture ME about how it's all that other stuff like friends and memories that we should cherish! You don't know ANYTHING about being poor!" She grabbed after some more citizens who were running. Ryuko jumped forward and slashed off Gold Bigger's fingers, just barely stopping her from transforming the citizens as the coins her fingers were made from clattered against the ground before reforming on her hand.

"No amount of money is worth destroying others!" Ryuko retorted. "LIGHTNING DRAGON!" She thrust her sword forward, sending a huge bolt of electricity towards the enemy, but it merely fizzled out, barely scorching the surface of her.

"HA! Don't make me laugh! I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I was just trying to trick that Chloe girl no one likes! What's wrong with that?" She swung at Ryuko a few more times. Ryuko dodged back every time.

"No one wants to be used just for their money! I'm sure even Chloe wants genuine friends! Do you have no heart?" Ryuko accused.

"HA! Oh, poor, Chloe! It's always like this. No one ever feels bad for me. I fade into the background!" She swung her hand, sending a stream of coins at Ryuko, forcing her to dodge. "And everyone hates on the bad people in this world!" She swung more coins at her. "And the moment I start doing some justice of my own!" She swung down at Ryuko, barely missing her. "People use that as a reason to hate on me! You heroes are all the same! You don't want a better world, you just want to be BETTER THAN PEOPLE!" She yelled.

Ryuko saw the wallet hanging to Gold Bigger's waist, leaping at it to try and cut it in half, but Gold Bigger swung her hand at the in-transit Ryuko. Ryuko blocked with her blade, avoiding being turned into gold coins, but was flung across the street. People were still escaping, and with Ryuko gone, they were now easy prey. Gold Bigger started to slam her hand on them all as they ran away, turning them into gold coins to further grow her body with.

"NOOOOO!" Ryuko held out her hands, feeling immense guilt at not being able to protect those people. "WATER DRAGON!" She shouted, sending a huge stream of water backwards to propel her forward at high speed. Gold Bigger turned and saw the hero flying her way and sent stream after stream of gold coins as projectiles, but each time Ryuko would dodge, not ceasing in her furious charge at the villain. As Ryuko got near, she extended her sword with a sharp blade of rushing water, getting ready to cut the villain in half. "HIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

But then, she stopped.

Gold Bigger had grabbed the hilt of Ryuko's sword between her index finger and her thumb. Even with the extension of water, it was just shy of hitting the bridge of Gold Bigger's nose. "Oh, sorry, was that your big hero moment? Guess I interrupted it. My bad." She taunted. "Let me guess, you're the type of person who loves to tell themselves they care about others. You love to play the hero so that you can feel good about yourself. You're probably a cold person behind that mask. And you think you can make up for that by being better than me, right? Pathetic." She accused.

Ryuko couldn't say that Gold Bigger was wrong. She… she was helping Sabrina. But did she just want to be better than Chloe? Was that why she was doing it? To prove she was superior? No, no, this person was just projecting. That wasn't it at all. It couldn't be. She truly wanted to be Sabrina's friend… right?

Right?

Somehow, Ryuko couldn't help but doubt herself.

Gold Bigger reached her finger forward, hoping to poke Ryuko. But then, Ryuko felt something bounce against the side of her head. Was it a ball?

"FETCH!" In an instant, Ryuko was teleported out of Gold Bigger's grip. She was now in an alleyway, being carried bridal style by the superheroine Miss Hound, someone Ryuko had barely talked to before. "You okay?" Miss Hound asked her, giving her a gentle but bright smile.

"Uh…. Y-yeah." Ryuko said, blushing a bit. Miss Hound put her down. "I'm sorry I forced you to use your powers so early."

"It's no biggie, really! What are friends for?"

"We're… friends?" Ryuko asked, shocked.

"Well, we're both allies of Ladybug, so that makes us friends, right?" Miss Hound asked, tossing the ball up and down. "But right now, we both need to detransform and refuel."

"I… No, we can't!" Ryuko said, her miraculous beeping. "That thing is turning people into money as we speak. I had a chance to stop it, but I…. CURSES!" She punched a wall, creating a dent in it. Tears rolled down her cheek. Though was it because people were getting hurt, or because her pride was hurt? She didn't want to know the answer.

"Hey now, no need to cry." Miss Hound wiped away Ryuko's tears, catching her off guard. "Even Ladybug has trouble taking down akumas on her own. That's why she sent me, right? You did your job holding her off. Now let's do our job taking her out!"

"...Right. Let's… Let's recharge."

—

Cat Noir dodged away from another golden beam from the mouth of Bullion. He didn't want to know what it would do, but he could make an educated guess that his net worth would probably jump up by a bit. His suspicions were confirmed when it fired a bolt of energy at a civilian trying to flee it, turning the civilian into gold coins that would fly in the direction of Gold Bigger.

"Seems that Ladybug's left you behind!" Iridios taunted from a rooftop, throwing more feathers at Cat Noir, who dodged all of them while hopping around on all fours.

"No way! She'll be back any minute!"

"Is that so?"

"SURE IS!" Ladybug called from behind Iridios, throwing her Yoyo and striking him off the roof. Iridios managed to land on the ground in front of his Sentimonster. Ladybug landed next to Cat Noir, twirling her yo-yo.

"Milady! Seems you didn't forget our date after all." He joked.

"How could I forget? I was just running some errands." She responded before turning to Iridios. "But YOU." She blocked a blast from Bullion's mouth. "Why the hell did you have to pick today of all days to attack with Chrysalis?"

"Yeah, it wasn't great timing!" Cat Noir responded.

"Oh, it's not like I choose when my little butterfly decides to hatch a plan." Iridios said, pacing around them, Ladybug continuing to block lasers from the sentimonster. "I just can't miss out on a chance to help her achieve her dream!"

"Well, you could have chosen today to NOT! WE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY NOW!" Ladybug yelled.

"Oh come on, you should be thanking me." Iridios said, unfurling his fan. "After all, the promised day is only a few years away."

"Promised day?" Cat Noir asked. Ladybug flinched.

"Oh, what? Are you telling me she hasn't TOLD you?" Iridios taunted. "I figured your lady told you everything."

"She does!"

"No, I don't." Ladybug admitted. "Cat, I… Look - "

"Don't worry." He said, narrowing his eyes at Iridios. "I'm well aware that whatever is happening you have a… reason to keep it a secret." There was pain in his voice.

"Oh, Kitty Cat…"

"For now, I think you should pull out your power."

"Good idea. Lucky Charm!" She threw her yoyo in the air, creating a large red cloth with black spots. "Keep Iridios busy, I know what to do with this." She said.

"On it, Milady!" Cat Noir said, running at Iridios, who would proceed to dodge several swings from Cat Noir before deflecting an attack with his fan.

Meanwhile, Ladybug dodged beams from Bullion as she swung onto a rooftop and waved the cloth in front of the bull like a matador.

—

Gold Bigger was as tall as the Eiffel Tower, and was stomping her way through the streets, stepping on people and growing even larger. Soon, she made her way over to the Eiffel Tower, on top of which were a huddled mass of people trying to escape from her. Among them was Miss Hound, who stood in front of all of them.

"GOLD BIGGER!" Miss Hound called out. "LET'S CALL A TRUCE!"

Gold Bigger laughed as she continued to stomp towards them. "A truce? Let me guess, yet another hero is gonna lecture me about right and wrong? Tell me that I'm wrong to be greedy? Well, I don't want to hear it!"

"No, not at all!" Miss Hound said. "I actually get you a lot!"

"You what?"

"All this money, it'd be AWESOME to have! I get it! Think of all the awesome shoes and toys and outfits you could buy with all that gold in your body."

"Well, it seems you at least have some sense - "

"But who will you buy them from if everyone's made of money? And how will it fit you?" Miss Hound asked. Gold Bigger slowed down. "Come on, I'm sure we can find out a way for you to have all your dreams come true without the need for this. So please, fight it!" She cheered her on. Gold Bigger stopped her advance, processing all of this and having a hard time coming up with a counter argument.

Ryuko was hiding behind one of the legs of the Eiffel Tower, watching on with amazement. This villain was greedy, callous, and manipulative. Ryuko hated her. But Miss Hound was able to look at this person and not just try and understand her, but connect with her.

Very few times in her tenure as a hero had she seen a villain snapped out of being akumatized. Almost all of them had been herself or a close friend she knew was good of heart. But Miss Hound looked like she was about to do it with someone Ryuko had completely written off. It's almost as if this dog user was an archon of virtue, seeing past all of this woman's flaws….

Ryuko went a deep red, a thought suddenly crossing her mind. Sure, there were no real 3d men like her precious Kousuke… but maybe there were real 3d women like him.

"That's it, Gold Bigger! Fight it! Fight Chrysalis!" Miss Hound cheered. Everyone else on the Eiffel Tower started to cheer her on.

"You can do it!"

"Fight it!"

"I know how hard it is to resist, I was akumatized too, but you need to fight!"

"We believe in you!"

The chorus of supportive voices flooded Gold Bigger's head. But they were soon drowned out by an even louder voice.

"GOLD BIGGER, DON'T BE FOOLED BY HER CUNNING WORDS!" Chrysalis yelled.

"But I… Is what she's saying wrong?"

"If you stop, I take away your powers, and you have nothing! Don't listen to her!"

"I… I shouldn't listen to the dog girl… I should listen to you…" Gold Bigger said, holding her aching head.

"YOU CAN DO IT!" Miss Hound cheered. "FIGHT HER!"

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER!"

"If I might throw my 2 cents in, I suggest you listen to the sweet melodic voice of my little butterfly." Iridios's voice said in her ear.

"Your little butterfly?" Gold Bigger asked.

"WAIT IS THAT LITTLE PIGEON TALKING TO YOU? DON'T LISTEN TO HIM EITHER!"

"But he said to listen to you!"

During all of this distraction, Ryuko took a deep breath, figuring now was as a good a time as any. "Wind Dragon." She said, conjuring the slightest of gales to lift her into the air, trying to sneak her way to the wallet the akuma was in. Despite how big Gold Bigger had gotten, the wallet was still as small as if ever way, making it a tiny target. Ryuko needed to be very careful.

She slowly lifted herself up. It was almost there. Almost there. It was within reach. She grabbed her sword and swung -

Gold Bigger noticed.

She ignored the voices calling at her and worked on instinct. "NO, IF YOU DO THAT I LOSE EVERYTHING!" She swung her hand at Ryuko, who wasn't able to dodge in time. The heroine turned into a pile of gold coins and was absorbed into the villain's body.

Miss Hound cringed in sympathetic pain. "Oof…." She then tensed up in fear as Gold Bigger turned to face them again.

"That's right, Gold Bigger! Attack!" Chrysalis cheered

She reached her hand towards them all, when… BAM! Something impacted her legs. Bullion, lured over by Ladybug using the cloth, had been guided to run right into the giant's legs. Gold coins flew everywhere as Gold Bigger's feet were disconnected from her lower legs, causing her to fall onto her back.

"MISS HOUND, THE BAG!" Ladybug called, currently riding the back of Bullion.

"RIGHT!" Miss Hound said, running and diving off of the Eiffel Tower. She wound back her arm and tossed the ball right at the wallet on Gold Bigger's hip, making contact. "FETCH!" She brought it back to her hands, and then split it in half, releasing the akuma and amok. Ladybug, now on the ground, threw her yoyo to catch them.

"TIME TO DE-EVILIZE! GOTCHA! Bye bye!" She let the butterfly and feather go out into the air. She then took the cloth and threw it up. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Her miraculous ladybugs went all over Paris to fix the damage caused by the villain, and everyone turned into coins was returned to normal. Ryuko came back into existence on the ground, just in time to see Miss Hound falling to the ground right nearby.

"INCOMIIIIIIING!" Miss Hound called out. Ryuko ran over to catch her bridal style, sharing a smile with her.

"Sorry about that." Ryuko apologized.

"It all worked out, didn't it? You've got nothing to apologize for." Miss Hound responded. Her miraculous started to beep. "Heh, I guess I should go." She said, Ryuko putting her down. Ryuko nodded at her before the two of them split up to return their miraculous to Ladybug.

—

Marinette detransformed near the movie theater, running towards the entrance right as Adrien made his way there, too. "Marinette, you're okay!" He said, pulling her into a hug.

"Heheh, of course I am!" She said, hugging him back. They'd pull away before sharing a fist bump.

"Pound it."

"Pound it."

"So, is it… too late to go on the rest of our date?" Marinette asked.

"Well, only one way to find out." Adrien replied, taking her hand. He'd take her out on a river boat ride across the Seine, then to get ice cream before heading home with her. It was a wonderful night out, full of beautiful memories. And when it was done, Adrien dropped Marinette back off at home.

Marinette walked up into her room and pulled out her cell phone, calling up Felix. He picked up.

"Hello, phone for Felix."

"..."

"Is this about the akuma attack?" He asked.

"What do you think?" She responded, bitter. He sighed.

"Look… I really tried to stop Chloe from pissing off that girl. But I… I bailed early. I wanted to believe I'd settled things when I didn't. I'm sorry." He admitted to her.

"...It's fine. I shouldn't have forced that on you." She said. "You and I have our differences in how we do things. But I know you try your hardest, especially for Adrien."

"Thanks, I think. That helps to hear."

"Doesn't mean that I'm any happier about any of this." She said, venom in her voice. Felix laughed.

"Trust me, I know."

"Yeah, yeah, well, have a good day."

"You too." He hung up. Marinette would then get a knock on her trap door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Adrien."

"Oh, come in!" She welcomed him. Adrien would make his way into his room, a conflicted look on his face. "Is… everything alright?"

"Marinette… it's about the new user of the peacock. Iridios, right?"

"Y-yeah?"

"He said something about a promised day. Seems you two had an understanding about something."

"Oh, yeah, that… right." She responded, guilty.

"I know that you're keeping secrets, and I know you have good reasons…" He said, holding one of his arms with his other hand and looking down. "But promise me you're not hurting yourself with this secret, okay? If you having to suffer through this alone was hurting you, I don't know what I - "

"Alright."

"Huh?" He looked up.

"I… I can't tell you everything." She said, pain on her face. "But… You're right, I need to tell someone. And I can't think of anyone better than you. You might want to sit down for this." She said. Adrien nodded and sat down in a seat. "I can't tell you everything, and some of what I might tell you might still be a lie, but I can tell you the important bits."

"It's fine. I know you have your reasons." He said, giving her a confident smile. That smile, oh man, it made her feel like things might actually be okay.

"...After Felix lost the peacock to Iridios, me and Iridios were fighting. And that's when Bunnix came in and told us about… a day in the future." She said, solemnly.

"A day in the future? You mean the promised day?"

"That's right." Marinette nodded. "A day when a threat far, far greater than Chrysalis and Iridios would show up. I know nothing about it, but I do know that we need our wielders of the miraculous to be as strong as possible. That's why these attacks by Chrysalis are… actually a blessing in disguise." She admitted, pain and guilt in her voice. "It's our chance to train everyone. Into true masters of the miraculous."